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Doc. 208.] HIS SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE IN 1743. 143
only as to the intellectual part of my mind, and not as to my
will part."
The opening of Swedenborg’s spiritual sight implied there
fore a separation of the intellectual part of his mind from the
body. How this separation was effected shall now be examined.
In the "Arcana Coelestia," no. 9281 , we read: "Man has an
internal and an external respiration; his external respiration
is from the world, but the internal from heaven. When man
dies, external respiration ceases, but internal respiration, which
is tacit and imperceptible during the life in the body, continues.
This respiration is altogether according to the affection of
truth, thus according to the life of one’s faith. Those, how
ever, who are in no faith, which is the case with those in hell,
derive their respiration, not from the interior, but from the
exterior ; they thus breathe in a contrary way, wherefore on
approaching an angelic society where respiration from the
interior prevails, they begin to be suffocated, and become as
if dead ; they therefore cast themselves down into their hell,
where they again receive their former respiration which is
opposed to the respiration of heaven. " In the "Arcana Cœlestia,”
no. 805 we read, "The man of the Most Ancient Church had an
internal respiration, thus one which agreed with, and was similar
to, the respiration of the angels ; this respiration was varied
according to all the internal states of man. This respiration,
however, became changed in course of time among their posterity,
until finally in their last posterity [before the flood] after every
angelic quality had been destroyed, they could no longer
breathe with the angelic heaven ; which was the real cause of
their extinction. After these times internal respiration ceased,
and thereby communication with heaven; and external respir
ation succeeded."
From this it follows that for one to have communication
with heaven, and have his spiritual sight opened, he has to
be initiated into the internal respiration of the angels. On
this subject Swedenborg relates with reference to himself: "I
was first accustomed to this [internal] respiration in infancy
while saying my morning and evening prayers, and also some
times afterwards while examining the concordant action of the
heart and lungs, and especially while in the act of composing
し
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